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Photo Credit: AEW

Women’s Wrestling Wrap-Up: Mercedes Martinez Is All Elite, Beth Phoenix Returns At WWE Day 1, Alexa Bliss’ Journey Back To Raw

By Ella Jay

It’s a new year, you know what that means. Women’s wrestling has been riding a huge wave of momentum this past week: Mercedes Martinez officially signed with All Elite Wrestling, the TBS Tournament finals are set, Beth Phoenix returns at WWE Day 1, Alexa Bliss is set to return, and much more! Let’s break it down on this week’s edition of Women’s Wrestling Wrap-Up!

TBS Tournament Finals Set, Mercedes Martinez Is All Elite

The finals of the AEW TBS Championship Tournament are finally set.

Last week on Dynamite, Jade Cargill met Thunder Rosa in an intense semi-finals bout. Cargill entered the match still undefeated in AEW competition, while Thunder Rosa arrived as the crowd favorite.

After some back and forth action, Cargill’s manager Mark Sterling distracted the referee. Suddenly, a hooded figure emerged and struck Thunder Rosa with a foreign object as Rosa lay against the ropes by the turnbuckle. As a result, Cargill capitalized and landed her Jaded finisher on Rosa to snag the victory.

After the match, an angered Thunder Rosa attempted to enact some revenge on Cargill with a series of strikes, but the brawl would quickly be cut short. The hooded figure reemerged to take down Rosa, apparently aligning themselves with Jade Cargill. As the assailant unmasked, it was revealed to be veteran, Mercedes Martinez.

Ruby Soho soon arrived with a lead pipe to even the odds and make the save for Thunder Rosa, scaring off Martinez and Cargill.

With this victory over Thunder Rosa, Jade Cargill not only continues her undefeated streak, but also now advances to the finals of the TBS Tournament, where she will face Ruby Soho. Soho has only lost one singles match since arriving to AEW in September. These two fierce competitors will meet tomorrow on the January 5th episode of Dynamite, airing on TBS.

As for Mercedes Martinez, this appearance on New Year’s Smash marks her official return to the promotion since last appearing in 2019. Martinez recently made her return to the independent scene and challenged for the IMPACT Knockouts Championship against Mickie James Turning Point in November. Now, she is officially signed to All Elite Wrestling.

RELATED: Mercedes Martinez Reacts To AEW Signing

Beth Phoenix Returns At WWE Day 1, Mixed Tag Match Set for Royal Rumble

Recently at WWE Day 1, “The A-Lister” Miz squared off against “The Rated R Superstar” Edge in a one-on-one match. However, the match was fueled by constant distractions from The Miz’s wife, Maryse, who accompanied him to ringside.

The tense rivalry between The Miz and Edge has accumulated over the last few weeks. After interrupting Edge’s return on November 29th, Miz and Maryse were set to renew their vows on the December 27th edition of Monday Night RAW. That ceremony didn’t go quite as planned though, as Edge delivered a special present for the “It Couple” in the form of a Brood bath. Blood soaked, Miz and Maryse were even more fired up heading into Edge and Miz’s singles match at WWE Day 1.

Accompanied by Maryse, The Miz utilized outside interference to gain multiple advantages throughout the match. Maryse struck Edge in the face and even assisted the Miz in avoiding a pinfall by putting his foot on the rope.

As the Miz unleashed a Skull Crushing Finale, Edge kicked out. But that’s when things took a turn. Maryse then attempted another distraction move but was stunned when Miz looked to the stage to see Beth Phoenix abruptly standing there. Amidst this shock, Maryse turned around to see Phoenix chasing her down.

This allowed Phoenix’s real-life husband, Edge, to hit a spear on The Miz to secure the victory. Phoenix joined Edge in the ring to celebrate his well-earned win.

But this was only the beginning.

The two couples would again meet on the latest edition of RAW. There, The Miz proclaimed that he is still the only two-time Grand Slam Champion in the history of WWE, and he was mere inches away from defeating the Hall of Famer, Edge. “I was going to lay Edge to rest, then his wife showed up,” Miz declared, referring to “The Glamazon”, Beth Phoenix. “I know her as the woman who interferred in my match, and allowed Edge to cheat fate and steal a pathetic victory,” he went on, before being met by Edge and Phoenix.

Edge then delivered a challenge to The Miz and Maryse to an intriguing tag match at Royal Rumble: The IT Couple vs. The GRIT Couple. Accordingly, The Miz accepted, but was met with apprehension from Maryse. Phoenix threw a fake punch at Maryse, causing her to crumble to the mat.

Maryse and Miz will now officially battle Edge and Beth Phoenix on January 29th at the Rumble Rumble in St. Louis.

Prior to her appearance at WWE Day 1, Beth Phoenix was last featured on WWE television at NXT 2.0 WarGames, before announcing her departure from NXT commentary. Her last in-ring appearance came from the 2020 Women’s Royal Rumble, where she notably made it to the final three.

RELATED: Edge And Beth Phoenix vs. The Miz And Maryse Set For WWE Royal Rumble

Alexa Bliss’ Journey Back To RAW Soon Begins

Last night on RAW, WWE announced that next week will begin the glimpse into Alexa Bliss‘ journey back to Monday Night RAW.

The former RAW Women’s Champion was last seen at Extreme Rules in September where she fell short in RAW Women’s Championship match against Charlotte Flair. Flair would destroy Bliss’ Lilly doll after the match, which left Bliss incredibly distraught. Since then, Bliss has been absent from all WWE programming, but was kept on RAW during the WWE Draft in October.

WWE played a recap of those moments from Extreme Rules but left a vague graphic, showing “Alexa Bliss’ Journey Back to Raw” will begin next week on January 10th.

Bliss also cryptically tweeted the following:

While no further details of Alexa Bliss’ return have been announced, it should be noted that this reemergence comes right before WWE’s annual Royal Rumble pay-per-view. Last year, Bliss was eliminated by Rhea Ripley, and runs quite high in this year’s betting odds. Perhaps a Rumble win is in Bliss’ future?

WrestleZone will keep you updated as further details become available.

INTERVIEWS

Independent star Kayla Sparks appeared on In & Out The Locker Room to discuss finding self-acceptance, returning to the ring after a 14-year hiatus, producing “Against The Ropes”, her early influences, and more!

IMPACT Knockouts Champion Mickie James recently chatted with Bill Pritchard of WrestleZone about her history with Deonna Purrazzo, defending her championship at Hard To Kill, who she’d like to work with in the future, and more!

Former Knockouts Champion Taya Valkyrie spoke with SwerveCity Podcast about her clothing line, Gwen Stefani, working on herself as a person and more.

RAW Superstar Liv Morgan joined CBS Sports to discuss Angry Liv Girl, her rivalry with Becky Lynch, paying homage to Lita and Trish Stratus, and much more.

NWA World Women’s Tag Team Champions Allysin Kay and Marti Belle recently appeared on Women’s Wrestling Talk to discuss how they became a tag team over the pandemic, the importance of being NWA World Tag Team Champs, their decade long friendship, and more.

IMPACT Wrestling star Chelsea Green and producer Gail Kim recently chatted with Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful about Chelsea’s potential in AAA, the hiatus of Ring of Honor, their finishing moves, and more.

AEW Women’s World Champion Britt Baker joined Busted Open Radio to recall her lights’ out match against Thunder Rosa, the impact of the match on the world of pro wrestling, and the reactions from fans, and more.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Pro Wrestling EVE: Revolt, Resist, & Riot – 

IMPACT Wrestling: Hard To Kill – 

Ella Jay
Ella Jay

Ella Jay is a writer, podcaster, interviewer, and host in the wrestling space.
Her love for professional wrestling sparked at the age of 11, finding Friday Night SmackDown while scrolling through channels. Ella watched and attended numerous wrestling events growing up, captivated by the likes of Jeff Hardy, Mickie James, and Shawn Michaels. 

Ella currently resides in Buffalo, NY and has a Bachelor's in Psychology and minored in Creative Writing at Canisius College. She also highly enjoys reality television and crime shows, specifically: Survivor, Big Brother, Law & Order: SVU, and NCIS.
Follow Ella on Twitter: @itsellajay

EMAIL: [email protected]

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